Consultation opens to consider ‘finer details’ of phone ban in schools
The Scottish Government has opened a consultation on restricting mobile phones in schools to help work out “finer details” of the ban.
The consultation aims to give children, young people, parents and carers, school staff and education authorities the opportunity to share their views on what potential legislation could be enforced. The public is encouraged to respond to the consultation until November 17, with analysis expected to be published in early 2027. Education Secretary Mairi McAllan visited Perth Grammar School on Tuesday to meet teachers who have implemented a ban on phones in classrooms. The school uses boxes where pupils leave their phones at the beginning of a class and they are then returned at the end for use in break times. Ms McAllan said the consultation will be used to take into account any “exceptions” within a school phone ban. She said: “The consultation begins today and it is based on the Government’s intention to legislate, to pass laws, to take a national position of ending personal mobile phones in the learning environment, and it builds upon guidance which is already in place, but it asks key questions like: should it be a whole campus ban, or should it be a classroom ban? “It talks about issues like where there’s exceptions. I don’t want there to be too many exceptions so as not to undermine the underlying principle. But I’m very clear that young people will sometimes need a mobile phone to manage a medical condition, or perhaps if they’re young carers to contact home. “It’s about getting those finer details worked out in consultation with teachers, young people, parents, but also it’s about a national provision for the end of mobile phones in the learning environment.” Updated guidance was published in June which encourages schools to restrict the use of phones during teaching and learning time as a minimum while the proposed mandatory legal restrictions are being developed. Last year students at Portobello High School and Queensferry High School were issued with wallets to keep their phones in during the school day which once sealed require a magnetic pad to unlock them. Ms McAllan said she is keen to find alternatives to the “expensive” pouch system. She continued: “I’ve already been clear that I don’t, for example, support a nationwide rollout of the pouches that we have seen because they are expensive. “I think I’m not alone in feeling that I should far rather have that money invested into education than in managing highly addictive tech.” The consultation has been published alongside practical guidance for parents to keep their children safe online and manage their screen time.
Published: by Radio NewsHub